ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 (corona virus) disruptions have necessitated a new way of thinking about how entrepreneurship and its environments (ecosystems) function in times of heightened uncertainty. Based on a sample of 237 entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) stakeholders in Tanzania – an emerging economy, we examine the pandemic economic consequences steered by government countermeasures on the EE-perceived quality and performance. We further examined the role played by EE stakeholders' engagement, collaboration, and support during the crisis. Our structural equation model results suggest that strictness of government counter measures for containment of the current pandemic predicament has a bearing on EE- perceived quality and performance by fueling EE vulnerability via amplifying the magnitude of the negative effects. We further find that stakeholders' engagement and collaboration play a significant role in improving the EE-perceived quality and slowing down EE-vulnerability. We conclude by providing the implications and avenues for future research. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of African Business is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
ABSTRACT
Background: The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) presents a number of implications for both the public and private sectors. An important feature of the 4IR is enhancing the sustainability of businesses through innovation. Aim: This article examines the government's entrepreneurial role in promoting innovation-led entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs). Setting: Through a comparative approach, the research presented in this article investigates the role of government in promoting innovation-led EEs, in a top-performing EE, namely Silicon Valley and South Africa. Methods: A qualitative research design is adopted, and unobtrusive research methods are used for the conceptual, contextual and comparative analysis of authoritative literature and secondary data. A best practice case of Silicon Valley is used to analyse factors influencing innovation-led EE development in South Africa. Results: Challenges currently influencing the growth and sustainability of entrepreneurship in South Africa are identified. These challenges include 4IR readiness, policy implementation and the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The findings suggest that governments should play an important role in shaping innovation-led EE policy implementation. Conclusion: The article concludes by proposing a conceptual framework to aid managerial and policy guidance for the development of innovation-led EEs. Contribution: The findings of this article will be useful to guide managerial and policy guidance on the role of government in shaping innovation-led EE policy implementation.
ABSTRACT
Sustainability themes have increasingly gained traction within academia and industry. The knowledge accumulation is at the development stage and remains more understanding about the phenomenon in the black box. Innovative sustainable initiatives are little known, especially in transforming individuals' values, culture, and well-being. Universities are well-placed to contribute to this academic conversation as they seek solutions and responses to current grand societal challenges through their core activities (teaching, research, and engagement). A good example has been the recent development of disruptions by universities to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspired by these debates, this study theorizes/tests how an entrepreneurial university ecosystem contributes to the UN SDGs' achievement through its core activities and social-entrepreneurial orientation. By adopting a retrospective case study of a Latin-American University, our study provides insights/implications into the configuration of university social entrepreneurial ecosystems and their sustainable contributions to the SDGs.
ABSTRACT
Scaling value propositions as if stakeholders finally matter. Why is it that while COVID has imposed possibly the most VUCA: volatility (V), uncertainty (U), complexity (C) and ambiguity (A) in recent memory, many new and small firms are nonetheless scaling? What has COVID forced us to learn—or re-learn? Everywhere we turn, we hear about “Industry 4.0” where industry players and stakeholders make up a complex, dynamic web of relationships, facilitated by ever-proliferating open innovation models and a recognition that linear relationships have given way to complex, dynamic ecosystems that require multilateral engagement (e.g., Müller et al., Technological Forecasting & Social Change 132:2–17, 2018). Alas, the dominant models for innovation systems remain firmly focused on institutional players too often to the exclusion of the innovators themselves. We need to understand that innovation communities are an ecosystem. This essay introduces the reader to what we might call the “ecosystem mindset.” © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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Purpose>Digital transformation has had controversial impacts on the way small retailers and stakeholders interact, make decisions, and jointly create value while also transforming the nature of relationships. This paper examines the enabling factors of digital transformation in the small retailers' context through the lens of stakeholder theory, deepening the knowledge about the implications of such transformations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approach>The authors employed a mixed methodology based on a single case study, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and a survey to illustrate the dynamics behind and the impacts of the development of a digital platform created to support the commercial activity of 100 small retailer entrepreneurs located in Italy during the 2020 lockdowns. The platform has been developed in partnership with public and private local stakeholders with different degrees of involvement in the project.Findings>The authors demonstrated that stakeholder relationships based on trust, engagement and empowerment are enablers of digital transformation in entrepreneurial contexts based on analogic relationships and communal sharing relational models. The authors also outlined the implications of empowerment and digital contamination among small retailers.Originality/value>The authors’ findings foster the understanding of digital transformation in small entrepreneurial contexts by highlighting the potential of digital transformation as a powerful bridge between the urgent call for digitalisation and the maintenance of valuable relationships with customers by small retailer entrepreneurs, supporting the creation of entrepreneurial ecosystems.
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 (corona virus) disruptions have necessitated a new way of thinking about how entrepreneurship and its environments (ecosystems) function in times of heightened uncertainty. Based on a sample of 237 entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) stakeholders in Tanzania – an emerging economy, we examine the pandemic economic consequences steered by government countermeasures on the EE-perceived quality and performance. We further examined the role played by EE stakeholders` engagement, collaboration, and support during the crisis. Our structural equation model results suggest that strictness of government counter measures for containment of the current pandemic predicament has a bearing on EE- perceived quality and performance by fueling EE vulnerability via amplifying the magnitude of the negative effects. We further find that stakeholders` engagement and collaboration play a significant role in improving the EE-perceived quality and slowing down EE-vulnerability. We conclude by providing the implications and avenues for future research. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of African Business is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on international entrepreneurship. The purpose of this study is to assess the future of international entrepreneurship as a field of research and to propose the main consequences for scholars and practitioners post-COVID-19. We examine the three main macro-level global phenomena (digitalization, ecosystems, and institutional support) that are impacting the consequences and repercussions of international entrepreneurship during and post-COVID-19. Specifically, we present arguments for the rise of born digitals as the predominant form of internationalizing enterprises as well as for the importance of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and export support for sustaining international entrepreneurship post-COVID-19 and beyond. Based on the analysis, we provide recommendations for researchers on international entrepreneurship for potential future research avenues. The study also includes recommendations for policy and practice on public support of digital international entrepreneurship, small- and medium-sized enterprise export promotion, and ecosystem support. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Digitalization, new work and leisure concepts and global challenges are transforming the way we live. More stakeholders, including residents and entrepreneurs, actively participate in the implementation of alternative socio-economic concepts;as such, entrepreneurial ecosystems are seen as drivers of regional development. The research still lacks holistic approaches to the application of ecosystems in tourism destinations. Hence, the objectives of this article are to capture research on entrepreneurial ecosystems in tourism and, specifically, to derive a holistic model that integrates destination and location management across stakeholders. This research utilizes the method of a systematic literature review, starting with 597 articles on ecosystems. Following four stages of exploring the literature, the results show that most articles have been published in rather isolated fields of smart tourism or quality of life aspects. Based on the rather qualitative review that reveals specific ecosystem components, we propose a model of an “Ecosystem of Hospitality” (EoH). Focusing on stakeholder interaction and encounters, the EoH fosters the adoption of the entrepreneurial ecosystem to destinations in a dynamic approach. The practical implications are, for example, a broader consideration of various stakeholders, including the local population, and a switch in typical destination management tasks from mere tourism service production to regional development and living space management.
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This perspective calls for building greater understanding of the role that entrepreneurship plays in addressing the challenges to resource and waste management imposed by COVID-19. We contend that researchers and practitioners need to recognize that entrepreneurs are important change agents who can help in the transition to a more sustainable and circular economy. We present challenges as well as opportunities to address this gap with the goal to foster future research.